Allmann: Challis lived full life in 18 short years

Tuesday

FREEDOM — John Challis has squeezed the gold chain around his neck for the last time.

In his very first interview about his cancer, John asked me to step outside his family’s home in Freedom to tell me about the gold chain around his neck. He didn’t want his parents to hear,

“It’s my grandfather’s chain,” said John, in that interview in early August 2006. “When the pain gets too bad, I squeeze it and it gets me through. It’s OK for you to write it, but my parents don’t know.”

John’s parents know about the chain now but, even more importantly, millions of people worldwide also know about John and his battle with hepatocellular carcinoma. His message of hope in the face of insurmountable challenges and making the most of every breath have left an indelible mark on everyone he has met or heard about his story in the past two years.

Finally, though, the cancer became more than even the squeeze of a gold chain and an amazing spirit could combat. John needn’t worry about pain any longer as he passed away Tuesday at 1:40 p.m.

In these past 24 months, John taught us all a great deal — about John, about his family, about each other, and about ourselves. He became an unexpected celebrity but never changed.

He appreciated that his attitude got people’s attention and used it to promote his message, but never really understood why someone suggesting to never give up and make every breath count was really worthy of so much attention.

John was equally at ease visiting with Alex Rodriguez or Adam LaRoche —- or the Freedom Lil’ Bulldogs Midget team. It didn’t matter. He knew, somehow, that everyone needed to hear his message and accommodated every interview he could.

He was the subject of an ESPN segment, a Japanese television show, and seemingly every talk show in the country, but still was just a teenager from Freedom. He said frequently that he faced the challenges he did because God knew he could handle it … and many of us think that waiting at a red light is a challenge.

Facing an inevitable end that few of us want to admit, John enjoyed his high school athletic career more than most athletes more talented.

His senior year consisted of five plays but, in keeping with his philosophy of making the most of every breath, they will all be etched in memories forever. It wasn’t a long career, but it was a memorable one.

He played three plays in Freedom football’s final win over Hickory and batted twice in the Bulldogs’ baseball season, getting a hit in his first at bat.

For me, the final football game hit home the hardest. As a writer, we’re supposed to be objective and detached. I wasn’t even supposed to cover the game but, in a much bigger sense, it’s obvious now that I was.

Under the circumstances, though, watching John give everything he had on the same field where I had had the chance to coach him in 2000 as we won the Beaver County Mitey Mite title together, it was impossible to be detached.

Objectivity wasn’t needed, though. Everyone in the stadium knew the scoreboard was irrelevant, John Challis was the winner.

John knew it, too. After getting congratulations and prayers from the Hickory team, John and I walked to the locker room together. His smile spread across his face and everyone we saw had that same broad smile.

“I had to do it,” John said. “I told my mom I didn’t want to live my life wondering if I could have.”

Then he added, “There are worse ways a guy could go out.”

John knew then his fate was sealed, he just didn’t know when and, at that time, didn’t know the impact he would have in the meantime. I knew his fate, too, but was just glad to have had the chance to know John and do my part to spread his message.

I only asked John about the gold chain around his neck a couple of times in the years he was with us. It just didn’t seem to fit into our conversations because, as we all learned, John wasn’t dying from cancer, he was living with it.

Unfortunately, he could live with it no longer. But while he did, John Challis taught us all a lot and he’ll be remembered for those lessons.

And the best remembrance will be this — the message he brought will serve others the way his gold chain served him.

On days when the pain seems too much, we’ll reach for the memory of what John Challis taught us and it will get us through.

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